BROWN: I am not against all guns

A gentleman in the Dec. 22 issue said I'd written a column expressing a want to take all guns away from American citizens.

Of course, I never said that. I did say, in that column and others, that I have no problem with people owning guns to protect their homes and property and to hunt.

I do object to assault weapons that should only be used by the military (and possibly the police) being purchased by just anyone. And I object to background checks that are sloppy or non-existent.

Even after the tragedy in Connecticut, the extremists don't get it. Perhaps it's not their fault as certain right wing sites on the Internet are rife with stories about how the liberals and specifically President Barack Obama are coming after the Second Amendment. This is also a lie.

The president has done nothing to inhibit gun sales. In fact, if anything, certain gun owners might be happy with Obama as he's signed legislation to allow guns in national parks.

NRA Vice President Wayne LaPiere's comments on Dec. 21 were outrageous and out of touch with most Americans. He suggested we install more armed guards at schools and other public places. Yes, that may stop the potential killer occasionally, but the carnage it invites far outweighs that possibility. The NRA speaks for its leadership and for the gun manufacturers, but not for most NRA members.

According to a May 2012 poll from Republican pollster Fank Luntz commissioned by Mayors Against Illegal Guns reported of NRA members found 74 percent support strict background checks. America has 5 percent of the world's population, yet own between b35-50 percent of the world's civilian-owned guns, according to to a 2007 report by the Swiss-based Small Arms Survey.

We're also the most prolific arms dealer around the globe. Still, the NRA has pushed to let cop killer bullets be legal. The also say people who are on the "No Fly" list in America because they are suspected terrorists still must be able to buy any weapon they want. So de facto the NRA says it's OK to sell guns to suspected terrorists.

The North Carolina Tea Party held a gun auction on one of the same days that the children were being buried from the massacre in Connecticut. One of the guns included was a Bushmaster, the same type that the killer used. And this isn't an anomaly.

After congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot in Arizona, the Pima County GOP raffled off a model of a Glock pistol very similar to the one used in the shooting. Now you can argue that these two guns are popular and they would have sold anyway. Or that it's just a coincidence that these models coincided with the ones used in the two horrific slayings. But at best, it's terribly insensitive and at worst (which I suspect is the point) it's an "in your face" statement by the more extreme elements of the gun crowd.

We are a great country who used to pride ourselves on setting a moral standard for the world. Common Dreams.org's Abby Zimet reports on an ad stating "Worried about your kids?"

According to a blog item, "This holiday season, get them an Amendment II Ballistic Backpack, available in both Disney Princess and Avengers styles. Or wait. What about the Centurion Tactical Vest for Children?"

Is this what America has come to? Shame on the gun lobby and the cowardly politicians who put their jobs ahead of public safety.

If those politicians speak truth, the NRA will massively fund any politician to run against them.

Most Americans, including most gun owners, want two common sense laws passed.

Thorough background checks and magazines that carry no more than a particular amount of bullets -- perhaps five or 10. I don't know. People that have stats on both apprehending criminals and shooting know better than I.

I realize violent movies and video games coupled with crazy people and criminals are all a factor in the carnage, but so are guns.